TJ Hi Steer Down East offroad kit or WJ conversion

Josh C

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Wilmington NC
Looking to upgrade. Looked at the downeast kit w/ the 1ton TRE's and then looked at the WJ knuckle conversion. Anyone got any experience or pro's and cons or each setup
 
I had DEO's high steer set up and did not use it but once before ripping it off and going with Currie's chromolly steering linkage and stock knuckles. It interfered with my suspension, I could not mount a hydro-steering ram, although DEO tried to install the ram under the tierod it never worked. If you run wide tires the sway bar links that come with the kit will not work, I run 14.50's and I can't say how 12.50's will do. I did sell the kit, after one short trip, which was installed on a YJ so the tierod would clear a Ford 9" diff. So all in all it depends on the application. I would find something better for a TJ. Check with Andy at CRS (Carolina Rock Shop) in Charlotte he may be able to help.
 
Josh,
Let me know if I can help you with putting together a WJ kit. We have done it many times and it works well. I have done it for a couple guys on this site and they like it alot. The problem with it is that you need have a custom trackbar and mounts so that we can get the angle exactly correct since the drag link angle changes. I try to keep it dead on so there is no bump steer. Not a bolt in kit but it works well.

give me a shout if you want to discuss it more.

Andy
 
Andy helped me out with my WJ conversion, he can def. fix you up. If you're ever up in Raleigh, feel free to come check it out or I could send you some pictures if you haven't seen enough on the internet.
 
I would HIGHLY suggest the WJ swap. It's a little more work as Andy stated but definatley worth it. From that swap you get much bigger brakes, bigger TRE's, semi-high steer, and lots of other stuff. If you do it I would also recommend updating your brake booster and master cylinder with one from a WJ. You'll need a few new brackets on your D30 that you can get pretty cheap from JKS. Here are some pics.

Old rotor vs. new rotor

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Bracket you have to weld to the knuckle to get everything to line up correctly.

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New trackbar and stabilizer bracket

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Final product:

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Rox&Mud said:
I had DEO's high steer set up and did not use it but once before ripping it off
Click to expand...

That seems to be the norm with all of their "custom" work. I have seen three year olds with better fabrication skills. That is what happens when a wanna-be opens a shop. The only penetration they know about is in your wallet.
 
I forgot to mention that Andy reamed the WJ knuckles so that I have high steer with chevy 1 ton TRE's and tube. It is a much tighter setup driving down the road.
 
one thing I forgot to mention with the WJ swap is that you may need to get 16" wheels. Or if you have aftermarket 15's with appropriate backspacing you may get by with just shaving a little excess off the caliper.
 
i just used the teves style caliper and my rims have 3.75" backspacing. I didn't have to shave the caliper at all, it is tight though, about 1/8" clearance
 
getstucksome said:
Andy helped me out with my WJ conversion, he can def. fix you up. If you're ever up in Raleigh, feel free to come check it out or I could send you some pictures if you haven't seen enough on the internet.
Click to expand...
I'd like to see a pic of it on level ground so I can get an idea of just exactly how much higher the tie rod is compared to stock
 
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